Sweden and Denmark have joined Germany in demanding insurance documents from tankers passing through their waters in the Baltic Sea in an effort to combat Russia’s shadow fleet, Foreign Policy reports.
Ships without proper insurance will be blacklisted by the US, UK and EU, further limiting Russia’s ability to circumvent energy sanctions and finance its war with Ukraine.
“If we’re looking for who’s the real problem, it’s the ones who don’t want to show their papers,” said Christina Sieg, a professor of maritime law at the Southern University of Denmark.
Russia’s shadow fleet is largely made up of older tankers with questionable insurance, often owned by foreign shell companies.
These vessels fly foreign flags and typically refuse to use pilots to navigate narrow coastal waters. Denmark and Sweden fear that sooner or later these tankers will trigger a major oil spill that would lead to an environmental disaster in the region. The problem is compounded by suspicions that Moscow is using a shadow fleet to carry out sabotage in the Baltic Sea, including damaging undersea cables.
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